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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: firm · vault · capital · mine · sharp · content · hand · racket

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. capital — money
  4. firm — decided
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. content — happy
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. content — the amount
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. hand — help
  13. firm — steady
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. sharp — clever
  18. hand — in cards
  19. vault — a safe
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. capital — a city
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. capital — a big letter

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com